New Chicago Bears stadium plan faces more hurdles

The Bears' prospects of building a state-of-the-art stadium took another blow, as local not-for-profits have teamed up to oppose the plan to build on the lakefront.

Why it matters: The city and the Bears want to build a $6 billion domed stadium with surrounding park space. However, for over a century, Chicago has fought to preserve the lakefront, keeping it free of development and open to the people.

Driving the news: Friends of the Parks (FOTP), which advocates for Chicago's green spaces, announced they have built a coalition of other advocacy groups to oppose the stadium plan.

What they're saying: Friends of the Parks interim executive director Gin Kilgore urges city officials to oppose the deal, "ensuring Chicago's Lakefront remains forever open, clear and free for future generations."

• FOTP is leading a petition drive to sign up residents opposed to the stadium, stopping short of filing lawsuits. But they don't rule it out in the future.

Flashback: Their lawsuit ultimately forced Mayor Rahm Emanuel and George Lucas to withdraw from plans to build an art museum on the Museum Campus in 2016 near the same site the Bears are proposing.

The intrigue: This is just another hurdle for the stadium plan. The Bears and the city want the state to pony up over $2 billion, a move Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called a "non-starter."

• In fact, at the introductory press conference in April, Bears president Kevin Warren said he wanted the project to start by this fall.
• Both Pritzker and House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch have signaled that a funding package will not be a priority during the upcoming veto session.
• It also doesn't help that it is an election year for the Illinois General Assembly, which usually means controversial legislation is pushed back until the following year.

The other side: The Bears believe they can get the state funding and withstand legal challenges since they technically aren't building on the lake, but on existing parking lots.

• They argue their stadium plan will make the museum campus better.
• "Our plan increases the green and open space and provides more year-round access to the lakefront," a Bears spokesperson tells Axios.

Between the lines: The Bears are in a quandary. Even if they can convince the state to cough up billions for a stadium instead of other pressing needs like schools and infrastructure, the Friends of the Parks coalition could use legal precedent to torpedo the project.

• If the Bears defeat the coalition, it could add severe delays to a project already behind schedule.

Of note: The Bears own the old Arlington Park racetrack and have not ruled out moving to the suburbs. The Civic Federation has also called for the Bears to choose other sites within the city limits.

The bottom line: A new Bears stadium project is turning out to be more of a marathon than a sprint.

What's next: The veto session of the General Assembly is scheduled for Nov. 12.